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[Cherryfest]

I want bright red hair and after months of experimentation and disasters I finally have it and i love it. BUT, my roots are almost 50% grey.  Is there any semi that will colour grey in bright red?  I can;t keep bleaching as my hair is very damaged already. As a result of my endeavours I already have some Manic Panic and Stargazer but I don't think Stargazer will cover grey?

Any advice would be awesome. Also I have a bright red Berina dye with no UK instructions. Has anyone ever tried this and know how to use it?

[typhoid]

Semi permanent dyes are not designed to cover grey hair, and you will have different levels of success trying to dye grey hair with semis such as Manic Panic and Stargazer. If you want a bright red, my personal recommendation would be going to a hairdresser and asking for red, they will use a mild oxidative (permanent) tint to the hair to get it right on the grey hair. Then you can put a semi permanent red over it to really make the colour pop, and the semi will take much better to the hair that's been mildly processed with the low strength developer used by the hairdresser. As far as I know, dyeing grey hair without using a developer is very hard, despite there being less pigment in the hair due to the greying process the cuticle stills needs to be opened and the hair made more porous using a developer somewhere along the line so that a semi permanent dye can better penetrate and stain the hair. I know girls who have followed this process (got a hairdresser red, been disappointed with the poor tomato-y colour, and then used a bright semi red over it) and have gotten gorgeous reds that took well on the previously processed hair and lasted decently. Most importantly, they were pleased with the colour, and that's all that matters!

[Mathurine]

Typhoid, as you're the resident expert on these things, would using a store bought colourant formulated to cover greys do the same thing? Or does it have to be a hairdresser strength formulation?

It's not for my own personal info, I'm just curious.

[typhoid]

Hairdressers are actually more likely to use a lower strength of developer than that in box dyes. As cheap and nasty as the ingredients used to produce box dyes are they will often still cover greys as they are advertised to. I simply recommend going to a hairdresser as they will use professional tints to achieve the colour, giving a more guaranteed outcome with less damage to the hair. Box dyes tend to contain metallic salts in their formulae which are very damaging to the hair, whereas professional tints use higher quality pigments to achieve colours.

[Mathurine]

Ah, ok. Thanks!

[typhoid]

Following up on this, the reason I recommend against box dyes is because of the strength of the developer used in them. Because they're designed to be a "catch all" for any person off the street they tend to use a much stronger developer to achieve colour, which when combined with the cheap ingredients (that often include metallic salts) damages the hair much more than professional colouring tends to. Hairdressers, on the other hand, assess each person's hair on an individual case by case basis, so will use a different strength of developer and tailor the mix to a person's specific needs. People can still use box dyes fairly confidently as long as they educate themselves a little bit about colouring hair beforehand but they should always be aware that they are not exactly the best quality or nicest chemicals to put on your hair.

[Nickki]

I know that Special Effects Nuclear Red covered my grey at the sides of my head no problem however these were just a dozen or so hairs so this may not work for everyone.  I agree with typhoid that using a permanent red dye (hairdresser or box dye depending on your preference and budget) and then using a semi-perm red over the top can oomph/boost up the colour quite alot and is a good way to go to get brighter results whilst covering grey hair.

[Magenta]

Hi Cherryfest - if you want a really good red that covers gray use L'oreal Majicontrast Red. It needs to be either bought on line or in a hairdressing supplier such as Sally. You mix it with peroxide and it bleaches and then colours the hair in one go. It is really, really vibrant though. Hairdressers usually use it for red low lights mixed with a less vibrant red.  I used it for years. It's about £6.00 or so on the net and a tube used to last me for months as it never faded.

[levannah]

I was wondering, if the purpose of using a peroxide based dye was just to open the cuticles or whether there was another reason why grey hair has to be coloured with an oxidative dye before a semi will take? As far as I know hairdressers just use 10-20 vol peroxide on its own and allow it dry to open the cuticle on grey or other hair that resists dying.

[Cherryfest]

Thanks guys. I have just bought the L'oreal Majicontrast Red and it looks very 'industrial'.  I've seen someone who's used it though and it looks awesome. £9.99 from Sally's so not cheap!  I'll post some pics as soon as I've used it cos I'm SO not prepared to give up on bright red after trying so long to get it   

[pierat]

I used directions fire when i had long roots grown through and there were a few red strands where presumably it was grey before, but don't know for sure as luckily I only have a few greys

[Magenta]

If it's bright red you're after Cherryfest they you'll just love the majicontrast red. Hope it turns out the colour that you're after.

[Cherryfest]

Ok I tried the Majicontrast and the colour is exactly how i wanted it so far (I haven't washed it yet). However, once it was on my head and developing I noticed the 'teeniest tiny' warning on the leaflet saying 'Not to be used to cover grey hair'.  Well it was too late so i left it on for 45 minutes and it's covered beautifully.

I really hope it works because I've caused so much damage to my hair trying to get it the beautiful bright red it is now that I'm desperate to keep it this way.

[Magenta]

I'm glad it's the colour you were after Cherryfest, I didn't realise that it wasn't meant for grey hair as it's always covered mine up and don't worry about washing it as its a permanent dye so won't wash out, it only fades - but it takes ages for this to happen. I've got majicontrast magenta on mine as a base colour with blue velvet on top, that way the grey shows as pink when the blue starts washing out.

To help with the condition, I would only dye the roots as needed with majicontrast mixed with peroxide and when the colour needs brightening use the majicontrast mixed with water. this colours just as well but doesn't harm the condition of the hair.

[maria1100]

u can use redkane its very effective